The Who announce mini-tour of Japan

The Who has announced that they will embark on a mini-tour of Japan in November.

The announcement was made through the band's official website thewho.com, with a notice posted after the dates: "Please note that The Who are not extending their trip East to Australia and New Zealand. The tour will be limited to Japan. More information will be posted as it comes in."

The website labeled the shows as "confirmed dates so far" which may mean that additional Japanese dates will be added to the four-date mini tour.

The Who's Japanese Tour Dates (subject to change):
November 13 - Osaka, Japan - Osaka Castle Hall
November 14 - Yokohama, Japan - Yokohama Arena
November 16 - Saitama, Japan - Saitama Super Arena
November 17 - Tokyo, Japan - Budokan Arena

The news of the Who's tour dates follows Pete Townshend's recent posts on thewho.com stating that he and Roger Daltrey were going forward with plans to tour Japan and other "Pacific" territories in the fall as well as heading into the studio, presumably to record an album of R&B standards. Shortly thereafter, Townshend wrote a long post on his blog on the site explaining why he was begging off any future live or studio work with the band.

Earlier this month fans received a glimmer of hope when the webmaster posted a note on Townshend's fan-interactive blog stating: "Pete's asked me to request that you don't make any more comments until further notice. He is writing and wishes not to be distracted."

There has been no official word from the band about any future live dates, or any announcement on whether an upcoming Who album is being planned.

The Who performed their first dates in Japan in July 2004 when they played two shows in Tokyo and Osaka.

Townshend says that after five decades of working with Daltrey, he's only recently found the proper way to present his new material to him: "And Roger just said to me several times, 'You know, I'll support you in whatever you want to do, let's take some real chances.' And I kind of stamped around the room saying, 'Well that's all very well in words but when it actually comes to it and I deliver him my big ideas, he doesn't want to get behind them, or he doesn't do this or do that ...' And then actually when it came to it, I realized (that) as long as the work I was delivering him was finished, he would simply make the choice of an editor or a performer."

Out now on DVD is the Who's performance at the 2007 Teenage Cancer Trust benefit is among the many others featured on the new DVD called TCT - The Who And Friends - Live At The Royal Albert Hall. The disc features the band performing "The Seeker," "Baba O'Riley," and "Tea And Theatre."

The Who's next appearance will be on July 12th in Los Angeles when the band receives the only award at the 2008 VH1 Rock Honors. Also appearing will be Pearl Jam, the Foo Fighters, and the Flaming Lips. The show will be broadcast on VH1 on July 17th.
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